Stocks to Watch: LMCA, DISH, DIS & More

Liberty Media - Liberty Media will spin off its Starz unit into a separate publicly traded company, a move it says will give it significant liquidity and also provide more transparency into Starz finances.

Dish Network - Dish Network reported second-quarter profit of $0.50 per share, well below estimates of $0.68 per share. The satellite TV provider also lost 10,000 net subscribers during the quarter.

Walt Disney - Walt Disney earned$1.01 per sharefor its third quarter, eight cents above estimates. Disney saw profit growth from media networks, theme parks, and its movie studios, with the success of the film “The Avengers” providing a sizable boost.

McDonald's - The restaurant chain saw July same-store sales come in below estimates both globally and in each world region. Weakness in both the U.S. and European economies were among the factors hurting sales.

Macy's - Macy's earned $0.67 per share for the second quarter, three cents above estimates. The retailer credits, among other things, strong spring season results.

Ralph Lauren - The company reported profit of $2.03 per share for its first quarter, well above estimates of $1.78. However, it also says current quarter revenue will be down in the mid-single digit percentage range.

SodaStream - The producer of home soda-making earned $0.52 per share for the second quarter, eight cents above estimates, with revenue also beating consensus.

Priceline.com - Priceline.com reported a second-quarter profit of $7.85 per share, excluding certain items, compared to estimates of $7.36. But the online travel company also issued an ex-items earnings per share outlook of $11.10 to $12.10 per share for the current quarter, below consensus estimates of $12.76. Priceline cited weakening conditions in Europe as a key factor in the third-quarter forecast.

Express Scripts - The company earned $0.88 per share for the second quarter, six cents above estimates, with revenue also beating forecasts. The pharmacy benefit manager also raised its full-year forecast, saying it is seeing cost savings from its acquisition of Medco Health sooner than it had expected, and is also benefiting from the increased use of generic drugs, which carry a higher profit margin.

Knight Capital - The trading firm will fully resume its duties as a designated New York Stock Exchange market maker as of this coming Monday, following last week’s $440 million trading loss and subsequent rescue by a group of investors.

Dean Foods - Dean Foods earned $0.36 per share for its second quarter, excluding certain items, five cents above estimates. The company benefited from both sales growth and cost controls during the quarter.

Zillow - The real estate website operator earned $0.04 per share for the second quarter, matching analysts' expectations, and also gave a current-quarter outlook in line with Street expectations. Zillow's profit was below year-ago levels, due to costs related to its acquisition of software company RentJuice.

Bloomin’ Brands - The company will debut today on Nasdaq, after pricing its initial public offering at $11 per share, below the expected range of $13 to $15 per share. The company is the parent of several well-known restaurant chains, including Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill, and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

AstraZeneca - AstraZeneca and British partner BTG have scrapped an experimental drug for severe sepsis after the drug failed to help patients in a mid-stage clinical trial.

Starbucks - The coffee retailer is planning to offer a new mobile phone payment option, in a partnership with Bay Area company Square.

Morgan Stanley - The firm is said to be considering shutting down offices and cutting staff, according to Reuters. The closures under consideration may include closing brokerage officers, laying off support staff, and requiring some branch managers to also generate revenue as advisors.